(A) Subject to division (C), a minor shall not do any of the following:
(1) Purchase or attempt to purchase a tobacco product or vapor product.
(2) Possess or attempt to possess a tobacco product or vapor product.
(3) Use a tobacco product or vapor product in a public place.
(4) Present or offer to an individual a purported proof of age that is false, fraudulent, or not actually his or her own proof of age for the purpose of purchasing, attempting to purchase, possessing, or attempting to possess a tobacco product or vapor product.
(B) An individual who violates division (A) is subject to the following:
(1) The first violation is a municipal civil infraction, punishable by a fine of $500 for each violation, except that the fine will be $50 for each violation cited on a single municipal civil infraction citation if the individual completes a health promotion and risk reduction program approved by the police department, either within 30 days of receiving the citation or prior to entering a plea of responsibility at the district court.
(2) A second violation or subsequent violation shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. The court may order the individual to complete a health promotion and risk reduction program and perform not more than 40 hours of community service in a hospice, nursing home, or long-term care facility.
(C) Division (A) does not apply to a minor participating in any of the following:
(1) An undercover operation in which the minor purchases or receives a tobacco product or vapor product under the direction of the minor's employer and with the prior approval of the local prosecutor's office as part of an employer-sponsored internal enforcement action.
(2) An undercover operation in which the minor purchases or receives a tobacco product or vapor product under the direction of the state police or a local police agency as part of an enforcement action, unless the initial or contemporaneous purchase or receipt of the tobacco product or vapor product by the minor was not under the direction of the state police or the local police agency and was not part of the undercover operation.
(3) Compliance checks in which the minor attempts to purchase tobacco products for the purpose of satisfying federal substance abuse block grant youth tobacco access requirements, if the compliance checks are conducted under the direction of a substance abuse coordinating agency as defined in the Public Health Code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.6103, and with the prior approval of the state police or a local police agency.
(D) Division (A) does not apply to the handling or transportation of a tobacco product or vapor product by a minor under the terms of that minor's employment.
(E) This section does not prohibit an individual from being charged with, convicted of, or sentenced for any other violation of law that arises out of the violation of division (A).
(Ord. No. 439, § 4, 2-17-15)
Statutory reference:
Tobacco, see MCL 722.641 et seq.